Along Came A Spider
by capyle
Summary: As Frank continues his war on the people responsible for his family's death, he comes across a young hero calling himself Spider-Man.


Frank Castle was supposed to be dead, which suited him. After taking down The Blacksmith, he was believed killed while on the deck of a ship in the harbor. This allowed him to continue avenging the death of his family by wiping out what was left of the three gangs responsible for their deaths. He returned to New York to take down the Dogs of Hell biker gang.

Many members of the New York chapter were in an abandoned industrial district of Queens sometime after midnight. They gathered in a roundabout, drinking and smoking while two men sat on Harley Davidson motorcycles in preparation for the ensuing street race. The two men revved their engines and a smashing bottle of whiskey set them off down the long strip of asphalt stretching before them. Frank Castle emerged from an alley with an M60 rifle and set off a spray of bullets into the small gathering of bikers. Many were hit in the back and chest while a few more were hit in their shoulder or arms. As expect, it set off a chain reaction with many bikers drawing revolvers and other guns in their drunken and paranoid stupor, firing wildly (rumors of the Punisher were already floating among their ranks after Castle orchestrated an attack on their clubhouse bar). The few that were not already bleeding on the ground were soon shot down by their own gang members and Castle knew that when the police arrived, they would likely chalk the gunfight up to infighting and not take a closer look at ballistics. The two gang members who were racing likely escaped the area, but Castle knew he would find them again (likely in Alabama where the gang originated). Castle approached the area, satisfied by the pile of bodies before him. There was a bit of stirring at the edge of the pile and when he turned in the direction of the movement, he saw one gang member, now with a bloody wound in his shoulder, racing toward a nearby warehouse.

Castle dropped his unloaded rifle, pulled the .45 from his hip holster, and calmly approached the warehouse, ready to finish his business for the evening. The building was dark and the only illumination came from the street light outside. There was no equipment inside, so the company that owned the building had no reason to lock it up, which made for easy access. Still, it was a large building with plenty of catwalks and winding corners, so he soon found himself several feet away from his initial attack. As Castle crept through the darkness in pursuit of his prey, he saw a brief shadow pass by the large windows, which was followed by a light impact on the outer wall. Frank placed his back against the wall and leaned in toward the window to get a better view of what was outside. He saw nothing, but he heard the voice of a young man no older than 15 shouting excitedly, "Mr Stark, if you get this message, I just heard some gunshots so I'm investigating!"

In the shadows, he saw the biker rise, along with the revolver in his hand. Castle tucked and rolled along the dirty floor just as bullets ricocheted off the metal pipes behind him. A second later, the window above him was kicked n and a figure flew in, taking the biker with it. Castle rose to his feet and followed the noise, his gun trained and his finger ready to squeeze the trigger. As he peered through the darkness, he could scarcely make out a visual: the biker was now wrapped in a web-like substance and hanging upside down from the ceiling. As he tried to process this, the figure dropped down from above and came to a squat in front of him. He could see the small figure wearing some sort of red and blue costume with wide white lenses on the mask.

"Take it easy," he heard the young voice tell him as the figure rose and began tapping the side of his mask, "Activate infrared... wait, does this suit have infrared?"

Castle raised his gun and popped off a few rounds. It was obvious this was another "guy in pajamas" like the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, but even younger. The figure was fast and agile, so he knew he'd be capable of bounding away from the rounds. He just needed to put some distance between the two of them and make his escape out the rear exit, which he did. He raced down the alley out back and cleared the chain-linked fence but soon felt a gust of wind above him just before the figure came in for a landing a few feet away. A string of web-like substance shot out from his wrist and snatched the gun from his hand. He knew there was no way he could win a direct assault, so he raised his hands defensively.

"How old are you, kid?," Frank asked.

"Huh? Oh, I'm... 25, why?," the figure asked.

"Bullshit. You're not even old enough to drive, I bet."

"Whatever, dude. Just tell me why you and that other guy were shooting at each other."

"Me and the other... You honestly missed the pile of dead bodies on the other side of that warehouse didn't you?"

"Pile of what?"

"Forget it."

"Hey, I know you," the figure snapped his finger as he spotted the skull emblem on FRank's flak jacket, "You're the Punisher, right? I thought you were dead."

"Kid, I don't know who you are, but you got no business in a situation like this. You need to walk away."

"Oh man, this is big. No one else was able to bring you in, but I got you man!"

"Are you even listening to me?"

The figure sprayed another strand of webbing, which covered his boot and held him in place against the pavement, "Honestly, I thought you'd be tougher. Like, I thought you threw exploding skulls or something."

"Jesus Christ, kid! Go home, study, find a date! You don't belong here!"

"Go home, study, and find a date... I can do the first two at least," the figure turned and removed a cell phone from his belt, "Just wait right there. Not that you have a choice or anything, but... wait anyway. I gotta make a call."

The figure turned his back and began dialing, so Castle took the opportunity to take the knife from his belt and quietly cut through the webbing holding him in place. "Mr. Stark, it's um, Spider-Man. Pick up, you gotta here this," the figure continued, not knowing Frank had freed himself and was doubling back toward the warehouse. He hopped the fence behind them as the figure continued, "You'll never guess who I just caught. You gotta call me back." Frank quickly made his way back inside, briefly passing the biker hanging from the ceiling as he plunged the knife into the man's throat.

"Spider-Man?," Castle thought to himself as he made his way back to the van, "And I thought Daredevil was a stupid name."

THE END


End file.
